Crawfish 101: Do You Suck the Heads?

Don't shy away from crawfish because of how hard it might look to get to the meat. We show you how to snap, peel, and tug those tasty morsels out of their shell in just 4 easy steps.

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Step 1: Grasp Hold crawfish on both sides of the tail joint, your thumbs on one side of the shell and your index fingers on the other.

























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Step 2: Twist and Snap
With a twisting motion, snap the head away from the tail. (Optional step for diehards: Suck the juice from the crawfish head.)

























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Step 3: Peel
Use your thumbs to peel away the shell from the widest part of the tail, pulling back from the center, just as you would peel a shrimp.

























Related Article: How to Boil Shrimp

Step 4: Tug
Hold the tip of the tail and gently tug out the tender meat. Enjoy!


























Now that you've mastered getting the shell off your crawfish, try some of our crawfish recipes.

Article by Valerie Luesse / Illustration by Ryan Kelly

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